July 20, 2015

Adam Sandler defends Ridiculous 6

By Alex StedmanAdam Sandler is finally addressing the controversy that surrounded his Netflix project “The Ridiculous Six” after about a dozen Native Americans walked off the set of the movie in April.

The actors complained of racist jokes against Native Americans, but, finally speaking on the issue at the premiere of his upcoming movie “Pixels,” Sandler said he wasn’t trying to offend anyone.

“It was just a misunderstanding and once the movie is out will be cleared up,” Sandler told the Associated Press.

The comedian also called “Ridiculous Six” a “pro-Indian” movie.

“I talked to some of the actors on the set who were there and let them know that the intention of the movie is 100% to just make a funny movie,” he told ScreenCrush. “It’s really about American Indians being good to my character and about their family and just being good people. There’s no mocking of American Indians at all in the movie. It’s a pro-Indian movie. So hopefully when people see it—whoever was offended on set and walked out, I hope they realize that, and that’s it. It was kinda taken out of context.”A partial rebuttal of Sandler's claims:

"It's really about American Indians being good to my character" doesn't exactly redeem this ill-advised project

By Paula Young LeeCould Sandler’s P.R. problem get any worse? Of course it could. Yesterday, Sandler dug himself into a hole by affirming that “The Ridiculous 6” was a “pro-Indian” film. He explained: “It’s really about American Indians being good to my character and about their family and just being good people.”

Alas, poor unhappy Gilmore, we hardly knew ye understood so little about the medium that made you so very rich. To explain, let me begin by making three observations. First, “Me smoke peace pipe, Kemosabe”-style jokes don’t only reduce First Peoples to stereotypes, they also mindlessly reinforce every negative stereotype Hollywood has manufactured about them.

Second, the “White Savior” trope goes like this: Clueless white person stomps all over Noble Savages who fight against Regular Savages, and then receives Enlightenment for which he is eternally grateful (but will never share credits, profits or royalties), for he has already rewarded the Noble Savages with the greatest of all gifts: the opportunity to help him.

Third, when the White Savior film is “historical,” it can even be sanctified with an Oscar nomination for best picture—an Oscar that “Dances With Wolves,” 1990, actually won.My thoughts

There's no mocking, says Sandler...in the unlikely event he removed every joke reported in the press. I wouldn't bet a dime on that.

The Indians raise Sandler's character...which proves they're good? Not if the jokes mocking them are still in the movie. All sorts of characters can be good and kind yet still treated as idiots and savages. In fact, the idea of Indians as big-hearted but comical buffoons is an old tradition in movies.

Repeating jokes that might've appeared in old comedies isn't mocking them. You mock movie conventions by having Indians laugh at other people, not by having other people laughing at them.

I bet the debate will come down to this:"Adam Sandler feels that when audiences finally see his upcoming Netflix comedy, 'The Ridiculous Six,' they will realize he wasn't trying to offend anyone."No, you stupid ass. The issue isn't whether you were trying to offend someone. It's whether you did offend someone despite your ignorant and ill-considered intent.

Only a few movies in Hollywood history were trying to offend Indians. But the fact is that several thousand of them did offend Indians with their racist and stereotypical depictions. How do you not understand this distinction, Sandler?